2 Subscription Box Email Fails Worth Noting

blog post

Aug 22 2017

2 Subscription Box Email Fails Worth Noting

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By Heather Munro
Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash

Social media may have put Blue Apron, Stitch Fix, and Bark Box on the map. But you can bet these successful companies spend plenty of time crafting subscription box email campaigns, too.

There are nearly 2,000 subscription services out there. And they cater to every niche imaginable. (Hello, CatBoxLady!) Without a clear commitment to customer retention, most of these subscription boxes will go out of business—fast. Instagram followers and Facebook likes are great. But they’re no match for the power of email. When it’s done right, of course.

As a copywriter who writes emails for a living, I recently noticed two of my own subscription boxes royally messed up their email communications.

Here’s how I think they could have done better.

Email Mistake #1: Failing to segment

When the hold on my $20-a-month subscription box was due to expire, I received the same email messaging as my previous subscription notifications: “Your order is comin’ atcha’.” Four days later, I got another email saying the order had shipped. And then, a generic welcome email where the founder wrote: “Nice to meet you.”

Now, as an existing subscriber who had been getting shipments for nearly eight months, these messages were way off base. The company should have welcomed me back. The subject line should have reminded me that the subscription I had put on hold three months ago was becoming active again—and that my credit card would be charged. Again.

With customer service in mind, the email could have also given me the option to continue my hold. And the marketing department could have included a survey on box shipment frequency to discover if they needed to change their offerings.

But nope. I was dumped back into one of their generic subscription box email campaigns for new customers.

I’m guessing this startup doesn’t have a skilled email marketer on staff yet. But as a customer, I felt like this company had no idea how to handle my business.

Managing a subscription takes a little extra time. I expect the companies I do business with online to make my subscription as easy as possible. At the very least, I expect them to understand who I am as their customer. And when they don’t? I don’t trust them, especially with automatically charging my credit card each month.

By failing to segment me as a customer who had put her subscription on hold, the company appeared unorganized and only interested in getting my monthly fee as quickly as possible. And because I wasn’t using the product fast enough to justify the hassle of managing my subscription, I cancelled.

The Fix: Personalize, personalize, personalize

It’s all about showing you know your customers through targeted emails. Onboard the new ones, figure out your customer journeys, and tailor your subsequent messaging accordingly. Develop email campaigns for your top scenarios: Welcome New Customers, Subscription On-Hold, Subscription Active Again, Cancellation, and Win-Back Cancellations. Hire someone to manage subscription box email campaigns, if you have to.

Email Mistake #2: A poor email preferences strategy

The next email snafu happened with a quarterly subscription box filled with full-size makeup and beauty products, fashion accessories, and fitness items. After a few boxes, I decided to pay extra to be able to choose my box’s items. You know, select a scarf color or body lotion scent.

At the same time, I was getting tons of emails promoting the non-subscription sales on this company’s website. So after I received one too many, I hit unsubscribe. I had signed up and paid for a premium subscription, but I wasn’t interested in the ad-hoc sales.

The next time I received an email, it was my usual box shipment notification. That’s right. No option to choose which items were in my next box. A perk I paid extra for. Naturally, I called customer service to find out why.

I was told that when I unsubscribed from the promotional emails, I had unsubscribed from all emails. And yet, I still got an email saying my order had shipped. And I didn’t receive an email allowing me to choose the items in my box. Huh?

I was then told to sign back up for emails and this would take care of the problem. So I did. And guess what? The next quarter, I still didn’t receive an email allowing me to choose my items before my subscription shipped.

Again, I just couldn’t be bothered to take the time to manage this pain-in-the-you-know-what subscription. I decided to go back to ordering stuff on Nordstrom.com, whose customer service never disappoints.

The Fix: Give customers clear email options

Emails relating to your customers’ accounts are not the same as emails pushing sales. Your customers are familiar with email preferences—they’re pretty standard these days. Be sure to include a way for your customers to manage what kind of emails they receive from you on your unsubscribe landing page. And if you offer an added perk, make sure to flag the email addresses who have signed up for it and email to them accordingly.

Winning customers back with email

As I mentioned, both of these email fiascos happened recently. I’m now waiting to see if either company follows up with a subscription box email campaign asking me to come back. Perhaps they’ll send me a survey asking why I left? I’m not holding my breath. But if I receive emails from either one, I’ll be sure to update this post. (See below.)

In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think makes outstanding subscription box email campaigns. Please comment below.

Update: A week later

Shortly after I wrote this post, I received a shipping notification email from the quarterly subscription box company. It turns out that I paid for a yearly subscription, and I had one more box due me.

While this email was better than nothing, it still missed the mark because it:

Provided the ship date, but did not even mention how to customize my box (the perk I paid extra for).

Listed the date my credit card would be billed, but failed to consider that yearly subscribers are only charged once a year.

I decided to click through to my account, where I saw my status listed as “will not renew.” And that my credit card will not be charged again. I did some more surfing and figured out how to customize my box. Hurrah!

Clearly, this company still needs to do a better job communicating with subscribers. Creating different versions of emails is as simple as adding in a relevant sentence or two. Bottom line? Your choice of words matter. Just ask any lawyer. Or better yet, your ex-customers.

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